The Spirit of a Hero—IV—The Hero Returns
DragonKnight19

It took Keith’s eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness inside Ganon’s Castle. The torches along the walls burned low, so it was darker than he was used to, and the torches threw long shadows across the floor. After passing the entrance room, Keith moved on to the inner entrance hall.

The next room was even less inviting than the first. It was just as dark, but two Iron Knuckles blocked Keith’s passage. As soon as they saw him coming, they started advancing on him slowly. Sheik had told Keith about these inhuman knights, so Keith was prepared. He slowly moved toward the closer one until it raised its axe over its head, and with a fierce battle cry, brought it down.

Keith dodged out of the way and swiftly struck back with his sword. He repeated this process a few more times, until the Iron Knuckle’s armor fell off. It rushed at Keith with newfound mobility, swinging its axe madly. Keith ducked and counterattacked. He struck at it a few more times until it fell. He repeated the process with the other one, taking advantage of his greater agility. Once the second one was defeated, Keith moved one step deeper into the castle.

Keith found himself in a room that was much larger than either of the previous two. There were three other doors in this room: a green one, a red one, and a blue one. As he explored each one in turn, he found a mini- dungeon behind each. Each mini-dungeon contained many puzzles for Keith to solve, and a tough enemy he had to face. Keith managed to conquer all three with no more than a few cuts and bruises. When he returned to the large central room, he noticed that something was different.

When he had first entered the large room, there were only four doors: the red, green and blue ones, and the exit. Now, there was a spiral staircase in the center of the room. Keith quickly ascended the stairs and proceeded to the second floor. At the top, he found a large ornate door fit for a king. This is it, Keith thought. Ganon’s in there. Time to make the bastard pay. He pushed open the door and entered Ganon’s throne room.

Keith strode into the throne room and was surprised to find it empty. The highly decorative throne sat at the far end of the room, unoccupied. On one side wall hung the broken shards of a sword, and on the other was a larger-than-life portrait of Ganon. “Where are you, Ganon?” Keith shouted. “Show yourself, coward!”

An evil laughter rang out through the room. “Just who do you think you are, kid, to sneak into my home, kill my minions, and hurl insults at me, the Great Ganon? You’ve got guts, kid. I hate guts.” All the torches in the room sputtered and went out, plunging Keith into complete darkness. In the darkness, two huge glowing red eyes appeared, floating in midair. They glared at Keith maliciously, then floated towards the center of the room, shrinking until they were the size of normal eyes. As they did so, all the shadows converged upon them, until the torches sputtered back to life, and a ball of complete darkness surrounded the eyes in the center of the room. The darkness started to form itself into the shape of a man, and Keith found himself face to face with the King of Evil.

“You must have a death wish, kid,” Ganon laughed. “You obviously don’t know just what you have gotten yourself into. You dare to raise a sword against me? There is only one sword that could ever harm me, and it is broken and hanging on my wall. I will crush you! You don’t even have a shield to protect yourself!”

“I don’t need a shield to defeat you, wizard,” Keith replied. “A shield is too cumbersome. Besides, I have this.” He pulled out the Ocarina of Time. “With this, I shall kill you for kidnapping my mentor, Sheik, and for murdering my parents.”

Ganon laughed. “Sheik? So this is the secret he has been harboring. That fool has been raising a hero to challenge me! If Link and Zelda couldn’t stop me, what chance do you have?”

“A better chance than you think.”

Ganon and Keith both turned to the door to see who had spoken. There stood Sheik, splattered in the blood of the Moblins who had been guarding his dungeon cell. “That’s right, Ganon,” Sheik said. “Link and Zelda couldn’t defeat you, but this boy shall succeed.”

“What makes you so sure?” Ganon sneered.

Sheik looked right at Keith and said, “Because he is the best of both of us.” He raised his hands, and a bright light engulfed his body. When the light receded, Sheik was no longer there, and where he had been, stood none other than Princess Zelda, no longer the headstrong teenager, but now a full-grown woman.

Ganon’s eyes went wide. “No, it can’t be,” he whispered. “You fell with your kingdom. How could you have survived?”

Zelda stared hatefully at Ganon, and replied, “That night you attacked, I escaped Hyrule with Keith,” Zelda said. “I adopted my old guise as Sheik, and have raised him to be the new hero. He shall defeat you, King of Evil, and restore peace to my kingdom.”

Ganon quickly regained his composure and said, “Maybe, but you won’t be around to see it.” He hurled a ball of dark energy at Zelda, but she couldn’t react in time.

“No! Mother!” Keith shouted, and dove into the path of the oncoming attack. It struck him in the chest and threw him into the far wall. The shards of the Master Sword became dislodged by the impact and rained down around Keith’s body.

Zelda started running toward her son’s motionless body, but Ganon leapt forward and grabbed her. “Where do you think you are going, Princess? Your hero is dead for a second time. Now its time to finish what we started, seventeen years ago.” The Triforce of Power suddenly appeared on the back of Ganon’s hand, and the Triforce of Wisdom on Zelda’s. “With the Triforce of Courage gone forever, and the Triforce of Wisdom soon in my possession, I shall soon be unstoppable! None shall oppose me!”

“Not if I can help it.” Now it was Ganon and Zelda’s turn to be surprised. They turned to where Keith had laid. He was standing again, an empty fairy jar in his hand.

“No matter,” Ganon laughed. “You cannot stop me, boy.”

“That’s what you think,” Keith replied, and held up his hand, where a triangle-shaped birthmark glowed brightly.

For the second time that day, Ganon’s eyes went wide. “NO! It cannot be! The Triforce of Courage! How! I killed Link myself! Unless...” He turned to Zelda. “Who is that boy’s father? Tell me!”

Zelda smiled. “I told you he embodied the best of both of us. Keith, your father is none other than Link, the legendary Hero of Time! You have the blood of a hero in your veins. Now fulfill your destiny and defeat Ganon!”

“Silence, woman!” Ganon screeched, and threw Zelda against the wall. She slumped to the ground and lay still. “NO!” Keith yelled, and hurled himself at Ganon. Ganon pulled out a broadsword of his own and parried Keith’s attack. He tried to counterattack, but Keith’s Sheikah training gave him the speed and agility to dodge it. He slashed Ganon across the stomach and elbowed him in the face. Ganon fell over, and Keith ran over to where Zelda had fallen. “Mom! Are you all right?” he asked. Her eyes fluttered open and looked at him.

“Keith,” she said weakly, “You can’t defeat Ganon like that. Only one thing can defeat him...” she slowly raised her arm and pointed towards the fallen shards of the Master Sword. “Take up the Master Sword, and it will reforge in your hand. You possess the Triforce of Courage, so the Master Sword and you are inseparably intertwined. Its fate is yours. So long as you live, it shall serve you. Now take it and finish your father’s work.” Keith ran over to the pile of shards and picked up the hilt. As his hand touched the handle, a mysterious tune started playing in his head. With his other hand, he pulled out the Ocarina of Time and started playing the tune. It was a slow, mysterious tune, which created an image of an age gone by. As he played, the broken shards started glowing, then rose from the ground and reforged themselves around the hilt, until the Master Sword was made anew.

“I’ll kill you before you get the chance to use that!” Ganon yelled. He rushed at Keith but Keith dodged out of the way. He stabbed Ganon in the side as he barreled past. The King of Evil bellowed in pain and swung his sword back at Keith, trying to decapitate him. Again Keith ducked and slashed Ganon across the chest. Suddenly, Ganon unleashed a wave of dark energy from his body. Keith got caught in it and was sent flying. He regained his balance and landed on his feet. He then charged Ganon and rammed his shoulder into the wizard’s gut. He doubled over, and Keith uppercutted him in the face, sending Ganon sprawling on the ground. Ganon tried to get up, but could only rise to one knee.

Keith stood face to face with him, and slashed Ganon’s face diagonally. “That’s for my dad,” he said. He slashed again, creating criss-crossing lines of blood across Ganon’s face. “That’s for my mom.” Keith raised the Master Sword high, and focused all his energy into it. “And this,” he said, “This is for me.” With all his strength, he rammed the Master Sword into Ganon’s face, through his skull and out the back of his head.

Ganon stood up, gripped his head in agony, and started reeling about the room. He collapsed to the ground at Keith’s feet, and he started to glow the same color as the Master Sword as his body slowly disintegrated. With his eyes brimming with hatred, he turned to look up at his foe and whispered, “Evil is merely the privation of goodness. As long as there is ill will in this world, I will return to wreak havoc upon Hyrule.” Keith gripped the Master Sword, still lodged in Ganon’s head, and replied, “And there will always be a hero who will rise up and stop you.” He wrenched the Master Sword free of Ganon’s skull, and Ganon screeched in pain as the disintegration completed. The King of Evil disappeared in a burst of light, permanently defeated. At the spot where his body had laid, a golden triangle hovered a few inches above the floor. It was the Triforce of Power.

Keith bent down and picked up the relic. He felt its power course through is body, and it disappeared in his hand. On the back of his hand, another golden triangle appeared next to the one already there. Suddenly remembering his mother, Keith ran over to where she lay. “Mom! He’s gone! I defeated Ganon!” he said excitedly. Zelda smiled up at her son.

“That’s great, son,” she said weakly. “I knew you could do it. I’ve been training you for seventeen years. Now that you have the Triforce of Courage and Power, I’m sure that you will lead Hyrule back into an age of peace and prosperity.” “What about you?” Keith asked. “You’re the rightful queen of Hyrule.” Zelda smiled again. “Don’t worry about me. I performed my duty: I raised you to be a fine young man who has now saved Hyrule. I couldn’t ask for a better son. I only wish that I could see you become a fine King.”

Realization suddenly dawned on Keith, and he exclaimed, “No, mom! You can’t die! Not now, after we just won! I’ve only just met you for the first time! Don’t leave me!” Zelda put her hand to Keith’s cheek and said, “I will never leave you, Keith. Your father and I will always be with you in your heart. You have to be strong, because all of Hyrule looks up to you. You are the light of hope to them; the descendant of the Royal Family and the legendary Hero of Time. You have saved them from Ganon’s evil clutches, now you must right his wrongs and restore Hyrule. Always remember to keep the balance between the forces of Power, Wisdom, and Courage, and you shall succeed. I love you, son.” Zelda gave one last sigh, and her hand fell limp at her side. For the first time in his life, Keith wept as he held his mother’s head in his lap, while the third and final golden triangle appeared on the back of his hand.

After Ganon’s defeat, Keith went on to lead Hyrule into a prosperous Golden Age. With the Triforces of Power, Wisdom and Courage combined into one, he was able to undo all of Ganon’s evils and bring peace back to the kingdom. The light of hope shone once again throughout Hyrule.

Keith had two shrines erected on either side of the Temple of Time. One was for his father, Link, the Hero of Time, who many times risked and even gave his life selflessly to protect Hyrule from Ganon and the forces of Evil. The other was dedicated to his mother, the beautiful Princess Zelda, whose wisdom had kept the light of hope from being extinguished forever. All of Hyrule came to pay homage to these two, and all others who had fallen under Ganon’s rule.

It is said, that at times, a fell wind blows out of the west, from the direction of the desert. Has good truly prevailed over evil? Or will evil once again return some day to wreak havoc once again? It matters not, for as long as their descendants keep alive the Legend of Zelda, there will always be a hero who will rise up and stop it.